Director, Software Engineering

Fanatics, Inc.; City Of London; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading sports technology company is seeking a Director of Engineering in London to lead a high-impact team focused on developing innovative technologies for sports fans. Responsibilities include team building, defining technical vision, and driving cross-functional alignment. Ideal candidates will have significant engineering leadership experience, a strong background in software development, and a passion for sports. This role offers the opportunity to shape the engineering culture and deliver state-of-the-art solutions.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in engineering leadership, managing managers or multiple teams.
• 12+ years of experience in software development.
• 3+ years of experience designing cloud-native systems (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Deep understanding of Agile and Scrum.
• Strong results orientation, backed by data and outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Recruit a small senior team and establish the engineering culture.
• Translate business goals into a sequenced plan.
• Own architecture for cloud-native services.
• Deliver a thin end-to-end production slice quickly.
• Establish lightweight processes and metrics-driven culture.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Mentoring

Software development

Cloud-native systems design

Agile methodology

Communication

Problem-solving

Education

Degree in Computer Science or similar

Job description

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Job Description

At Fanatics Betting & Gaming (FBG), a core division of Fanatics' mission to establish the ultimate end-to-end digital sports platform, we're building a world where every fan's passion is met with cutting-edge experiences. The Director of Engineering role within the Markets team is a cornerstone of this vision. You'll lead a high-impact team of software engineers focused on developing innovative technologies that build next generation experiences for our fans.

This is a true 0→1 role: you'll recruit a small senior team, establish the engineering culture and operating model, and deliver the first production slice of a new platform that powers fan-first experiences across the Fanatics ecosystem. We're intentionally light on product specifics in this posting; details will be shared during the interview process.

Responsibilities

• Build the team - Design the hiring plan, stand up the interview loop, attract and close exceptional talent; mentor, level, and grow engineers into leaders.
• Define vision & roadmap - Translate business goals into a sequenced plan (V0 experiments → V1 → scale), making clear build-vs-buy decisions and balancing "good enough now" with long-term durability.
• Set the technical foundation - Own architecture for cloud-native services (APIs, data flows, CI/CD, IaC, observability). Optimize for developer experience, reusability, and clear SLAs/SLOs from day one.
• Ship and iterate - Deliver a thin end-to-end production slice quickly, validate with internal customers, and evolve boundaries as usage grows (e.g., modular monolith → services when it truly pays).
• Create the operating system for the team - Establish lightweight processes (design docs, PR reviews, release cadence, incident response), a metrics-driven culture, and a strong bar for quality and speed.
• Drive cross-functional alignment - Partner with Product, Design, Data, Operations, Risk/Compliance, and peer engineering teams to ensure fit, reliability, and adoption; communicate clearly with executives.
• Champion security, privacy, and reliability - Bake in authN/Z, auditability, and compliance-aware patterns; use progressive delivery and robust monitoring to de-risk launches.
• Scale sustainably - Manage strategic tech debt, vendor relationships, and cloud costs; evolve architecture pragmatically as requirements expand.
• Model the culture - Foster inclusion, psychological safety, and high ownership; celebrate learning and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in engineering leadership (including managing managers or multiple teams), with a strong ability to mentor, grow talent, and inspire technical excellence.
• 12+ years of experience in software development
• 3+ years of experience designing cloud-native systems (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Deep understanding of Agile and Scrum, with the agility to adapt in a fast-evolving environment.
• A history of successfully delivering complex, scalable solutions with a focus on customer experience.
• Positive, flexible mindset with a readiness to take on new challenges.
• Strong results orientation, backed by data and outcomes.
• Excellent communication, influencing, and problem-solving abilities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science or similar (or equivalent experience).
• Experience leading distributed or remote teams.
• Passion for sports and/or the sports betting industry.
• Experience working cross-functionally with Product, Data, and Design teams.
• Start-up or high-growth environment experience, with a bias toward rapid learning and iteration.
• Strong team collaboration mindset and passion for working in a supportive, fast-paced environment.